Carneiro Confident Hell Finish DeSouza

Dec 29, 2007

Brazilian welterweight Roan
Carneiro(Pictures) returns to the UFC Saturday when
he fights grappling veteran Tony DeSouza(Pictures). Following a recent move to the
United States to train with American Top Team, Carneiro says he's
improved on the errors he made fighting Jon Fitch(Pictures), and expects to make his latest
appearance in the Octagon a successful one.

Sherdog.com: Did you decide to move to
the United States and why?Carneiro: Yes, I did. Now I'm living in
the United States, in Atlanta, Georgia. I decided to move because I
had an opportunity to run an academy here, and this sport is
growing a lot here in North America. This is completely different
from my beloved country. To stay here working and fighting is
better for me now.

Sherdog.com: Did you leave Brazilian
Top Team? Which team are you representing now?Carneiro: Living here in the United
States, it would be impossible to keep the same chain along with
Brazilian Top Team. I needed to look for a team that could support
me. Here I have the support of my friends at American Top Team and
its head coach, Ricardo
Liborio(Pictures), who trained me when I was a kid
at Carlson Gracie Team. Besides that, ATT has a lot of superb
instructors.

Sherdog.com: Are you an official ATT
member?Carneiro: We're under negotiations. I
hope we determine that soon.

Sherdog.com: How do you analyze your
training in North America for this upcoming match against Tony DeSouza(Pictures)?Carneiro: I'm in very good shape and
believing in myself so much. I had extraordinary preparation at the
ATT academy and I trust in the job of the ATT family. In reality I
was training here in Atlanta expecting an opportunity, so this
happened and I'm ready for fighting.

Sherdog.com: Your last fight was at UFN
10 against Jon Fitch(Pictures). What can you say about
your mistakes in that fight?Carneiro: I got tired at the end of the
first stanza and I don't think I had mistakes in that contest. He
resisted one of my better submission attempts [anaconda choke], and
I spent a lot of stamina forcing that choke, so I didn't recover
well for the following round. But I hope to face him again in the
future, mainly because I think Fitch has a good chance of becoming
a UFC welterweight champion.

Sherdog.com: What lessons did you take
from that defeat to Fitch?Carneiro: Not to think of other stuff
besides the fight, to keep focus on the fight, give my all and
insert 100 percent of my soul and my body into the match. These
were the lessons (laughs).

Sherdog.com: A lot of lessons then.
What did you focus your training on for this fight against Tony DeSouza(Pictures) at UFC 79?Carneiro: I balanced everything very
well, but I trained all. Muay Thai, wrestling, boxing and of course
Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which I sharpened. I'm sure I'll finish
him.

Sherdog.com: He has never been
submitted in an MMA fight. What do you think a submission would do
for your reputation?Carneiro: First off, victory (laughs).
Well, like I said, I want to finish him. I want to sink my anaconda
choke -- I'm hungry for that. If he has never been submitted, the
first time is coming.

Sherdog.com: You two were close to
facing each other at AFC Brazil in 2004. Since you studied him for
that opportunity -- and you studied him now too -- what can you
tell us about the differences?Carneiro: The time passed, and DeSouza
and me developed a lot. I guess we improved in several aspects. In
that time it was a different event in a different environment. I
bet this fight will [stand out] due to the excitement.

Sherdog.com: Since you're training at
ATT and Thiago Alves(Pictures) faced DeSouza, has Alves
given you much advice?Carneiro: Yes, Alves and I trained a
lot. This was very important for my preparation for this match. I
want to thank Alves for the support given.

Sherdog.com: DeSouza and you are coming
off losses. Is there any weight on your shoulders? Is it a
do-or-die situation?Carneiro: I don't think about it. I'm
confident in victory over him and that's all I think now.

Sherdog.com: Your name was mentioned to
compete in Europe early next year. What can you tell us about
that?Carneiro: I don't know anything about
that. I'm a UFC fighter and I'm under contract with them. I want to
fight a lot of times here, and there are several fighters I'd like
to test myself against. The best are here, and to become the best I
need to fight all of them.

Sherdog.com: You don't know anything
about this European event?Carneiro: I really don't know. A friend
of mine, Augusto Frota(Pictures), showed me a link to an
event in Eastern Europe, where I was booked. But I don't know about
that, and my mind is 100-percent UFC. This is what I care about
since I'm not going to fight where people didn't contact me or
didn't talk to me or the UFC. I'm a UFC fighter. I still have
things to prove in the Octagon, and it would be madness if I went
to another organization. I want to become a top-five welterweight
in the UFC, and this is my target in 2008. The beginning of it is
now, at the end of 2007, against DeSouza.

Sherdog.com: Do you know how many
fights you're going to have in 2008?Carneiro: Too much, this is the number
(laughs). The belt is my goal, the 170 belt.

Sherdog.com: Thanks for your time,
Carneiro. Would you like to add anything else?Carneiro: I thank my sponsors, which
believe in my job and in myself, and I want to state I won't
disappoint them. I want to thank my academy, Atlanta Extreme
Fighting System, Warrior Wear, Fightsport, Z Pizza, the ATT family
for its support and Jesus, who's giving me this opportunity.